


Self-Help For Two

by sophh



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, I wrote a sad thing for once, Mentions of canon character death, Tissues may be needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:29:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29562624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophh/pseuds/sophh
Summary: Percy never thought that Luna Lovegood would understand him so well.
Relationships: Luna Lovegood/Percy Weasley
Kudos: 6





	Self-Help For Two

"Your mother said I might find you here." The dreamy voice rang out across the field behind the Burrow.

Percy hastily slipped a tattered photograph into his pocket as he turned to look at the speaker. He adjusted his glasses, frowning when he realized who it was.

"Luna?"

The girl— _woman_ , Percy reminded himself—was wearing a forest green shirt and a flowy cobalt blue skirt. He was surprised by this; he had thought that she favored brighter colors. She had rounded off her ensemble with a tiny silver lunette pendant, and her hair was down. Her hairstyle wasn't so surprising; he couldn't remember ever seeing her with her hair up. Wearing it loose suited her carefree nature.

"Hello, Percy," she returned, cheerful as ever. She didn't seem bothered by his less-than-enthusiastic greeting. But then, nothing ever seemed to bother her much.

"Were you...looking for me?" Percy resumed staring at the small brook in front of him. He had come here to be alone, not to talk to Luna or anyone else. Whatever her motivation was for being here, he didn't much care so long as she didn't linger.

"It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" Luna didn't answer his question—she had never been one to give straightforward answers, he recalled—and instead moved to dangle her bare feet in the water. Percy nodded reluctantly, hoping that if he stayed quiet, she would give up and leave. Suddenly, her pale grey eyes were upon him. "What were you looking at when I walked over here?"

"Nothing," Percy said dully. He didn't want to share anything personal with Luna. Truth be told, he had always found her a little off-putting. Not that he knew her well. He had grown up with her, in a very superficial sort of way, simply because her house was close to his and their families were both magical. He had barely talked to her at all over the years, and certainly didn't have any reason to do so at Hogwarts. She was in Ginny's year, and something of a good friend of hers, though, from what he could gather.

"It must have been something," Luna said, still gazing intently at him. It was getting to the point where he was starting to feel rather uncomfortable. "You looked really sad. Do you want to talk about it?"

Something about Luna's sincerity broke something in him. Perhaps it was the fact that no one else had offered to listen to him talk, too wrapped up in their own grief. "I don't know," he said, scratching his neck and looking down at his reflection in the murky water. "Maybe."

"It might help," she said gently, fingering her pendant. Percy considered her for a moment, then reached into his pocket and held out the well-worn photograph. She took it gingerly, as though she could sense that it was precious to him. She studied it with care, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth, before looking back up at him. "This is a lovely picture of your brother."

Percy nodded, a lump in his throat. It was his favorite picture of Fred, taken a year or so before he died. His brother was standing in front of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, laughing and making faces at George, who pretended to ignore him.

"It was very sad that he died so young," Luna said, handing the picture back to him.

"Yes," Percy managed. "It was—it _is_ very sad."

Luna reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. It was small and warm, and it made him squirm a little, although he wasn't sure why. She was being so kind to him, but not in the patronizing way that most people were when they talked to him about Fred. He appreciated that.

"I sometimes wish it had been me instead of him," he blurted out. His ears reddened slightly as he realized the weight of what he had said. He quickly added, "I mean, I _used_ to wish that."

Luna shook her head. "It isn't up to me to judge how you feel, Percy. Your grief is your own."

Percy was grateful that she hadn't made a big deal out of it, the way his mother would have. She considered such thoughts forbidden, sinful.

"I distracted him," he whispered. "If I hadn't said I was resigning just then—it could have waited—"

"You couldn't have known," Luna said, squeezing his shoulder.

He looked over at her again. She was looking at him with a mixture of conviction and warmth. He wasn't used to anyone looking at him like that, much less this odd woman who had invaded his thinking spot and made him feel _heard_.

"No, I suppose not." He found himself reaching up to grasp the hand on his shoulder, wondering as he did so whether she would shrink away from his touch. She didn't. Her hand was soft, and about as pale as his own. "But I'm sure everyone blames me. They all know I was talking to him when he—when it happened."

"A famous man once said, 'We create our own demons,'" Luna replied, looking out over the trickling water. "I don't think anyone blames you. It's natural to feel as though they do, though. I felt the same way after my mother died, even though I played no part in her death."

Percy swallowed. He had forgotten that Luna had lost her mother. "Yes, of course. I'm very sorry."

"Don't be. I had nine wonderful years with her," Luna said, a fond smile gracing her features.

Percy suddenly felt ashamed. He'd had a little more than twice that with Fred, even though he had been estranged from the family for a few years prior to Fred's death. "But she was your mother. How can you be so—so happy now?"

"I don't know," Luna said thoughtfully. "I suppose I just sort of...carried on for Daddy's sake, and eventually I realized that it's not the hand we're dealt with, but rather how we deal with it that matters. Does that make sense?"

Percy nodded again. "It does." He glanced at the sky, which was beginning to darken. His mother would likely come looking for him if he wasn't back soon. He stood and looked down at Luna. "I'd better go, I don't want my mother to worry. Thank you for listening to me." He knew that didn't even come close to encapsulating just how much she had done for him, but he hoped that she understood nonetheless. He had a feeling that she would.

"Of course." Luna stood too. "What else are friends for?"

Friends. Percy turned the word over in his mind a few times, trying to make sense of it. He didn't really have friends, as he was more of a loner by nature, but he couldn't deny that he could use a friend. Especially one who understood him as well as Luna seemed to.

"I thought this was a self-help group," he joked lamely, privately thinking that Fred would have known just the right thing to say. His brother had always known how to lighten the mood. Not like Percy, who was awkward and unsure of himself no matter how hard he tried not to be. Still, Luna didn't seem to mind that he wasn't smooth and self-assured.

She shrugged. "Maybe it's that too."

Percy's eyes searched hers, looking for a hint of mirth, something that might suggest that she was joking, as he had been. But she seemed perfectly serious. "A self-help group that consists of only two people?"

"It's exclusive, I guess," she said lightly. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No," Percy admitted. "I don't mind at all."

"Good." Luna removed her hand from his shoulder, and he immediately missed the sensation. "We'll meet every Tuesday, then."

"Or maybe," Percy's smile was shy, "we could meet more often than that? Only if you felt that it would be beneficial, of course." He held his breath, afraid that he might have misread the situation entirely.

Luna returned his smile, and Percy felt himself relax a little. "I think I would enjoy that very much."


End file.
